Device for controlling the locking of containers on an orbitable carrier of an article storage device

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for controlling the locking of a container on an orbitable carrier of a mechanized file comprising a spring mounted on the carrier and held under compression by a bracket affixed to the container under a condition where the container is secured in a closed position on the carrier. In a condition where the container is not securely held in a closed position, the compressed spring acts against the container bracket to force the container outward from the carrier a predetermined distance. In this position the container interrupts a light barrier which is interlocked with the orbital control mechanism of the file so as to inhibit motion of the carrier.

United States Patent 1 1 3,897,123 Schmitt July 29, 1975 DEVICE FORCONTROLLING THE 3,592,521 7/1971 Cox 312/333 LOCKING 0 CONTAINERS ON AN3,640,596 2/1972 Kanitz 312/223 ORBITABLE CARRIER OF AN ARTICLE STORAGEDEVICE Gerhard Ludwig Schmitt, Bellheim, Germany Inventor:

Sperry Rand Corporation, Blue Bell, Pa.

Filed: Apr. 23, 1974 Appl. No.: 463,330

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 25, 1973 Switzerland... 5860/73June 7, 1973 Germany 2329127 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS12/1965 Sturgis et al. 312/223 Primary Examiner--Casmir A. NunbergAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Eugene T. Battjer [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus forcontrolling the locking of a container on an orbitable carrier of amechanized file comprising a spring mounted on the carrier and heldunder compression by a bracket affixed to the container under acondition where the container is secured in a closed position on thecarrier. In a condition where the container is not securely held in aclosed position, the compressed spring acts against the containerbracket to force the container outward from the carrier a predetermineddistance. In this position the container interrupts a light barrierwhich is interlocked with the orbital control mechanism of the file soas to inhibit motion of the carrier.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3,897, 123

SHEET 1 FIG.I

PATENTED 3.897. 123

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PATENTED JUL 2 9 I975 SHEET F I G. 4

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DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE LOCKING OF CONTAINERS ON AN ORBITABLE CARRIEROF AN ARTICLE STORAGE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to apparatus for controlling thelocking of containers or the like on an orbitable carrier of amechanized article storage device.

2. Description of the Prior Art In a prior art mechanized file of thetype for which the present invention was devised, the locking ofcontainers or the like onto the carriers in readiness for orbitingmotion of the file carriers is provided by means of a lock and springbolt assembly operatively associated with the carrier and container. Thelock and spring bolt assembly is released or locked by a handle on theorbitable carrier. Locking takes place on both sides of the container insuch a way that on one side of the container a lock bolt enters into anopening of the carrier whereas on the other side of the container aspring biased bolt enters from the carrier into an opening of thecontainer. Such operation of the lock and spring biased bolts is onlypossible when the lock bolt is in its closed or locked position becausethe spring biased bolt is disposed along the same axis as the lock bolt.To release the container the lock bolt on one side of the container ismoved out of the closed or locked position, whereupon it presses thespring biased bolt on the other side of the container out of the openingin the container so that the container is unlocked on both sides and canbe removed from the filing cabinet. As the spring biased bolt is pressedoutward, it impinges on the operating bar of a switch which interruptsthe carrier drive motor circuit and thus prevents motion of the carrierswhen any container is not in the locked position. This safety device isnot suitable for very wide or somewhat flexible containers, because onsuch containers it is quite possible that the lock bolt could be in itsextended position, corresponding to a closed or locked position of thecontainer, and nevertheless not be in the opening of the carrier butinstead be located in front of the carrier as a result of twisting orwarping of the container.

In prior art mechanized files of the type described in the precedingparagraph it is also known to provide a light barrier at the operatoraccess opening of the file to indicate when any container is protrudingfrom an orbiting carrier. It may happen, however, particularly witheither wide containers or rather flexible frame like article supportstructures that a container or frame will be unlocked or partiallyunlocked on the carrier so that it protrudes only slightly and to anamount insufficient to be detected by the light barrier. Under suchcondition, when the carrier is set into orbital motion, forces may acton the container or support frame to move it further off the carrierwith the result that the container or frame will strike the interior ofthe file cabinet at some point and be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above mentioned limitations ofprior art safety locking mechanisms it is a principal object of thepresent invention to provide an improved apparatus for controlling thelocking of containers or frames on an orbital carrier and particularlyfor assuring safe locking of wide or comparatively non-rigid containersor frames. This object is obtained in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the invention by means which moves the container out ofthe carrier by at least a predetermined distance into the path of alight beam if the locking mechanism does not lock or insufficientlylocks the container on the carrier. Protrusion of the container or frameinto the path of the light beam results in deactivation of the carrierdrive thus preventing orbiting of the carrier with an unlockedcontainer. The means for protruding an unlocked container into the pathof the light beam operates satisfactorily with a container of any widthor stiffness to assure safe locking to the carrier in a simple andinexpensive way. The light barrier in conjunction with which the lockingmechanism operates is employed in any case as a means for protecting thehands of the operator. In other words, interruption of the light beam bythe operators hands has the same effect in prohibiting motion of thecarriers as does interruption of the beam by a protruding container.

More specifically, a preferred means for causing protrusion of anunlocked container comprises at least one spring, which is mounted onthe carrier and which is compressed only in the last phase of theclosing motion of the container. The resistance offered by the spring inthe last phase of the closing motion also serves the function of actingto damp the container motion to inhibit impact closing. The principalfunction of the spring when compressed, however, is to force thecontainer outwardly if the operator has not pushed it in sufficiently toproperly lock. Preferably, on very wide containers a spring is providedon each side of the container so that if the container is skewed andlocking takes place only on one side, the unlocked side will be pushedout sufficiently to interrupt the light beam of the light barrier.

Heretofore, particularly troublesome problems were experienced inlocating suspension folders in article storage devices becausesuspension folders are typically held in a container designed as a framewhich is open at both the top and bottom. The frames are customarilymounted on an orbitable carrier by means of respective telescopic guidesdisposed on opposite sides of the frame and affixed to the carrier.Because of the low stiffness of the frames, however, safe locking was aproblem with the aforedescribed prior art safety locking device and thusit was found advisable, in spite of the high cost of telescopic guides,to construct small frames capable of supporting only a limited number ofparallel rows of suspension folders, generally only two rows per frame.By use of the present invention construction of wide frames ispermissible and thus more than two rows of suspension folders arereadily accommodated in a single frame. The safety locking springarrangement of the present invention incorporating a spring on each sideof a frame assures, irrespective of the non rigidity of the frame, thatif only one-sided locking of the frame occurs the other side will bepressed by its associated spring to force the unlocked side into theregion of the light barrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of amechanized article storage device having orbitable carriers on which aremounted drawer-like containers or frames for holding suspension files.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a frame incorporated in the mechanizeddevice of FIG. 1 and adapted to receive three rows of suspension files,the telescopic guides for the frame being visible on one side thereof.

FIG. 3 is a partial top view of a frame in the locked position on anorbitable carrier of the article storage device, and particularlyillustrating means for pressing the frame out of the carrier whenlocking does not take place.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the frame front wall particularly illustratingthe container or frame locking and releasing mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a portion of a carrier and associated frame ofthe storage device of FIG. 1 illustrating one of the frames in a skewedposition such as to be unlocked on one side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows an article storagedevice 11 with carriers l3 capable of being moved in an orbital path asis well known in the mechanized file art so that any selected carriercan be positioned above the posting board 14 at the opening in the frontof the device. The article storage device 11 is designed as a filingcabinet for suspension files 15. It would also be possible to designonly a single carrier 13 for receiving suspension files, and to use theother carriers for other purposes. To receive suspension files 15, thepresent embodiment of the invention provides two containers in onecarrier.

Referring to FIG. 2, the containers have the form of a rectangular frame17 which is open at the top and at the bottom to receive three parallelrows of suspension files 15. On both sides of the carrier, telescopicguides 19 are provided which are fastened at the frame 17 and at thecarrier 13. The guides permit a full extension of the frame 17 from thecarrier 13 so that all suspension files are freely accessible. Rails 21located at a distance from each other across the width of frame 17permit suspension of the suspension files 15. To lock the frame 17 withthe carrier 13, lock bolts 23 are provided on both sides of the frame.The lock bolts can be operated by a mechanism actuatable by a slide 25at the handle 26. The lock bolt actuating mechanism will be describedmore fully hereinafter with reference to FIG. 4.

As FIG. 3 shows, the lock bolts 23 engage a part 27 mounted on thecarrier 13 for the purpose of locking the frame 17 to the carrier. Apart 27 is mounted on the carrier adjacent each side of the frame toprovide locking of the frame on both sides. The inclined surface 28 onpart 27 causes the lock bolts 23 to be moved sideways, that is parallelto the front wall of the frame, as the frame is pushed to a closedposition, until the frame is fully closed on the carrier and the lockbolts then engage behind part 27 and hold the frame in a lockedposition.

A principal feature of the invention is the means shown in FIG. 3 whichacts to push the frame 17 out of the carrier 13 by at least apredetermined distance if no locking of the lock bolt 23 with the part27 takes place. This means comprises a compression spring 31 and abracket 33 mounted on the frame 17. As the frame is pushed into a closedposition bracket 33 acts to compress the compression spring 31 shortlybefore the frame is completely closed into the carrier 13. Thecompression spring 31 is concentrically located on a rod 35 comprising acollar 37 and is axially movable in a bracket 39 mounted on the carrier13.

When the frame is extended or opened from the locked position the collar37 is pressed with a bias against an arm 40 of the bracket 39. As theframe 17 is pushed into a closed position the bracket 33 hits the rod 35causing rod 35 to compress the compression spring 31 which acts to dampthe closing motion of frame 17. If frame 17 is closed sufficiently sothat lock bolt 23 engages part 27, the compression spring 31 remains inthe position shown in FIG. 3. However, if the lock bolt 23 does notengage behind part 27 the frame is forced outward a predetermineddistance relative to the carrier by compression spring 31. As a result,a part 30 of the handle 27 or a part of the frame 17 will be located inthe light beam 41 of a light barrier consisting of the light emitter 43and the light receiver 44, as shown in FIG. 5. Under such condition, thelight barrier acts in conventional manner as is well known to thoseskilled in the art to prevent orbiting of the carrier 13 by precludingenergization of the carrier drive motor and thus assuring that orbitalcarrier motion can only take place when the frame 17 is safely locked.The light barrier which operates in conjunction with the safety lockingmechanism may be the conventional light barrier which is used to protectthe operator. It is-not important whether interruption of the light beamtakes place immediately or only after orbiting of the carrier has begunwhich may be permissible depending on the location of the light barrierat the access opening of the file cabinet.

A light barrier which responds to only a partial interruption of thelight beam is of particular utility, for instance one which will beactivated when an object is projecting approximately only 5mm into ahighly directional light beam. Clearly, reproducibility of the switchingfunction is significant with regard to satisfactory operation of thelight beam. Suitable reproducibility can be obtained by use of a lightemitting solid state element, e.g., a gallium arsenide diode, as thelight emitter 43, the gallium arsenide diode being energized by astabilized voltage to assure that the light emitter 43 has a relativelyconstant luminosity. Solid state elements are also preferred in thatthey are not subject to substantial luminosity changes due to aging asis the case with conventional incandescent lamps.

A typical container locking and releasing mechanism is shown in FIG. 4.This mechanism is located on the back side 18 of the front wall of frame17. The slide 25 comprises a bent (horizontal) portion 51 whichfunctions to actuate two bell cranks 53 pivotable about points 54 towithdraw the lock bolts 23 against the bias of springs 55 (only oneshown). Each spring is connected at one end to a member 57 secured tothe back side 18 of the frame front wall and at the other end to thelock rod so as normally to be under compression and acting to force thelock rods outward parallel to the frame front wall. By moving the slide25 upward the lock bolts 23 are pulled inward toward handle 26 so as tobecome disengaged from the parts 27 and permit the frames to be pulledout from the parts 27 and permit the frames to be pulled out from thecarrier.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for controlling the locking of a container or the like onan orbitable carrier of an article storage device, said apparatuscomprising:

locking means including a pair of lock bolts mounted on the front of thecontainer and movable relative to the associated carrier for engagementtherewith when the container is in a fully closed position so as to lockthe container to the carrier,

means including a pair of spring actuated members each affixed to thecarrier adjacent a respective side of the container for acting againstthe container as it approaches the fully closed position so that if thecontainer does not lock to the carrier, the spring actuated membersforce the container outward to protrude from the front of the carrier apredetermined distance, and

light barrier means including a light source and a light detectordisposed on opposite sides of the carrier adjacent the front of thearticle storage device,

means further includes a manually operable slide for 10 disengaging thelock bolts from the carrier.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the slide of the locking means isdisposed in operative connection with two bell cranks and associatedsprings which act to move the lock bolts into a locked position when acontainer is fully closed on a carrier.

1. Apparatus for controlling the locking of a container or the like onan orbitable carrier of an article storage device, said apparatuscomprising: locking means including a pair of lock bolts mounted on thefront of the container and movable relative to the associated carrierfor engagement therewith when the container is in a fully closedposition so as to lock the container to the carrier, means including apair of spring actuated members each affixed to the carrier adjacent arespective side of the container for acting against the container as itapproaches the fully closed position so that if the container does notlock to the carrier, the spring actuated members force the containeroutward to protrude from the front of the carrier a predetermineddistance, and light barrier means including a light source and a lightdetector disposed on opposite sides of the carrier adjacent the front ofthe article storage device, the light detector normally receiving lightfrom the light source in a locked condition of the container to enableorbital motion of the carrier but the container acting when protrudingfrom the carrier to block the light path from the light source to thedetector and thereby inhibit orbital motion of the carrier.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the locking means further includes amanually operable slide for disengaging the lock bolts from the carrier.3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the slide of the locking means isdisposed in operative connection with two bell cranks and associatedsprings which act to move the lock bolts into a locked position when acontainer is fully closed on a carrier.